The Father (NHB Classic Plays)

August Strindberg's gripping psychological drama about the battle of the sexes, in a version by Mike Poulton. Strindberg's play The Father is about a marriage wrecked by the parents' need to claim exclusive rights to their daughter's love, and to determine her future. By turns comic and deeply tragic, it shows an affable, scholarly father fall victim to a once loving wife who will stop at nothing to do what she thinks is right for her child. The only possible outcome is a grim, yet thrilling fight to the death in circumstances of almost unbearable tension. Written in 1887, The Father was first staged in Berlin in 1890. This English version by Mike Poulton was first staged at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in 2006. 'Poulton is the adapter of the moment... The Father is franker, more revealing than almost any other play, an X-ray of a gifted, deranged mind' - Observer 'Poulton's terrific new adaptation is absolutely true to Strindberg's dark spirit... blows the dust off the text while capturing all its wild and idiosyncratic torment... The Father will knock your socks off' - Telegraph 'A startling emotional roller-coaster ride' - Guardian 'Fully confirms the play's power to rivet and disturb' - The Times

August Strindberg (1849-1912) was a Swedish writer and playwright, whose best known plays include Miss Julie, The Dance of Death, A Dream Play and The Ghost Sonata.